From Necessity to Innovation: The Admiral Journey
The idea for Admiral Lake and Pond Restoration, like so many great ideas before it, was born out of necessity. After many years of experience dealing with limited, marginally effective and oftentimes over-priced lake and pond equipment, company founder and avid inventor Hal Newell set out to solve this problem.
Initially, his goal was to find a way to make the equipment he had purchased more convenient and effective via modification. It didn’t occur to him that one day he would be building and selling the results of his efforts to like-minded consumers. That was until he showed one of the early versions of his “muck blaster” to a colleague, who recognized it’s value and strongly encouraged him to bring it to market. After making a few more modifications to the then-unnamed product, Hal gathered materials, made a few units, and tested them in Lake Minnewashta. He was pleased with their performance and listed them on the local Craigslist under the product name, “JetStream”. The amount of interest he received surprised him; he had so many phone calls that he decided to dedicate the better part of the summer to building and selling JetStreams and soon after, Admiral Fountains.
Growth and Modernization
Over the next two years, accessories and new mount configurations were added to the product lineup and customer referrals caused enough growth in sales that it became clear that this was no longer an inventor’s hobby, but a full-fledged business. Winters that were once spent on other projects were now spent on R & D, product line expansion, and preparation for upcoming summer sales. It became clear to Hal that he would need some help, and he decided to bring his son Charlie into the fold.
Charlie’s task would be to modernize the business; as such, a new name, logo, website, and marketing channels were established. This is when the business officially became known as Admiral Lake and Pond Restoration. Charlie filled the necessary business “holes” and notably placed his focus on company direction and market strategy, reaffirming that the company’s goal must be to fulfill what Hal had initially set out to do; focus on building the most effective and pragmatic high quality products for beaches, lakes, and ponds – and to do so at a reasonable cost.
With their goal clearly in the forefront, they set out to make Hal’s vision a reality, improving on past designs, generating ideas for new products, and looking for new ways to keep quality at an optimum level without breaking the bank.
Committed to Excellence
Today, Admiral’s operation continues much the same as Charlie and Hal continue to work tirelessly toward their goals. They are motivated by a strong referral business and are grateful for the opportunity to be able to help the many people out there, just like Hal, looking for quality lake and pond equipment that offers the flexibility and effectiveness he sought.
